Sideband switch for QRP group

"In a bold and perhaps controversial move, the HF Pack group that successfully encourages QRP portable operation has declared that Upper Sideband is now its standard on all HF bands.

The thinking behind this is to accommodate commercial and military portable HF radio systems that radio amateurs are now using for pedestrian or back-pack portable operation.

HF Pack says that with the advent of simultaneous "multimedia" capability SSB voice, CW, image, text, selcall, ALE Automatic Link Establishment, HF-APRS, and digitised QSOs on the same channel, Upper Sideband standardisation will become even more important.

The amateur radio tradition is to use Lower Sideband on bands 7MHz and Upper Sideband on the higher bands. This due to the early method of generating SSB. Commercial HF radios standardised on Upper Sideband".

So if you hear someone on the 'wrong' sideband on 40 or 80 metres, it might not be a pirate, fishing trawler or a commercial intruder, but someone adopting the HFPack standard of Upper Sideband on all bands.

VK3PC Jim Linton

Source: Wireless Institute of Australia

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